The remote control of application devices connected to each other through hard-wire connections is well known in an operating room. For instance, a controller having voice-activation and a touchscreen control device is capable of selectively controlling a plurality of surgical devices in an operating room. Such surgical devices include a hand-held powered cutting device with an irrigation device, an electrocautery device, a digital camera, an image capture unit used to record and manage images obtained by the camera, a video display, a light source for providing light to a surgical site, an insufflator device, room lights and other operating room tools and equipment.
The above arrangement, however, leads to a plurality of connecting cables disposed throughout an operating room. The cables interfere with work areas of a surgeon or other medical personnel. Further, the cables limit the movement of surgical devices, including video displays, within the operating room.
The use of a communication bus in an operating room for communication between a plurality of operating room devices is known. A bus arrangement, however, merely reduces the number of cables provided throughout an operating room and thus does not completely address the issues caused by the presence of cabling.
The use of wireless remote controllers, such as a wireless touch screen to provide inputs to an operating room controller, or a wireless foot switch for providing control signals to devices in an operating room is known. These operating room communication systems typically include a wireless transmitter only in the remote control device and do not transmit wireless video signals.
Video data in an operating room typically is transmitted over hard-wire connections from a camera to a video display monitor or to an image capture unit that stores, records and manages the images output from the camera.
The use or practice of providing a completely wireless operating room communication system including video signal transmission has not been completely realized. As set forth in commonly-owned U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0139881, filed Nov. 15, 2007, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, use of a wireless endoscope having a wireless transmitter mounted thereon is known. One reason wholly wireless operating room systems are not currently in use, is the inability to provide communication signals and video signals together on a broadcast channel due to potential errors in transmission of the signals caused by electromagnetic interference, along with a lack of bandwidth (high data rate) due to the typically large bandwidth (high data rate) required for video signals.
Many video images collected and displayed in an operating room environment do not require particularly sensitive resolution. Minor degradation of image quality generally is not significant for displays used during surgical procedures.
The wireless arrangement according to the invention combines data or control signals with video signals while ensuring delivery of control signals in all situations, even at the expense of occasional loss of portions of video signals and thus loss of video signal quality.
Further, the invention provides a video camera or other video device in an operating room having a wireless video connection with portable battery powered video displays provided therein. Such arrangements allow a user to freely move the video displays throughout the entirety of an operating room during a surgical procedure.
The invention also provides a completely wireless operating room system for surgical tools, a video camera, a video display, and other devices provided in an operating room by combining control command signals, audio signals and video signals for wireless transmission on a single communication channel.
The invention prioritizes the different communication signals transmitted on or with video signals. Control signals and audio signals are transmitted during blanking periods or blanking intervals of a video signal. The control command signals are provided with the highest priority techniques, such as retransmission of data or bit encoding to ensure communication accuracy. Audio signals, such as voice commands transmitted from a wireless microphone, are provided with a lesser degree of priority and thus less accurate signal transmission than high priority control command signals.
Further, video signals have a low latency between sensing by an image sensor of a digital camera and display. For example, video signals are minimally encoded with most significant bits and least significant bits. The least significant bits are lost first due to electromagnetic interference or other transmission issues.
Further, the invention automatically changes the communication channel utilized by the operating room wireless system when the communication channel has a signal to noise ratio (SNR) or a peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) from electromagnetic interference that prevents the system from operating effectively.
Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience and reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, the words “upwardly”, “downwardly”, “rightwardly” and “leftwardly” will refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” will refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the arrangement, and designated parts thereof. Said terminology will include the word specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar input.